Watership Down
by MewMewYaoiStar
Summary: Yaoi/Slash/BoyxBoy Hazel and his rabbits have a whole new set of adventures awaiting them, involving tests of courage, friendship and unexpected romances...
1. Chapter 1

The first thing is that, this is a fanfic heavily based upon the novels _Watership Down_ and _Tales From Watership Down _by Richard Adams. There are the same characters, similar pairings and rabbit language/views/living standards, etc.  
The 'rabbits' in my story are based on humans in the sense that they just have rabbit-like features/additions to them. E.g. tails and ears.  
Secondly, this fanfic is quite long. But I hope you'll all suppport me through it!  
Lastly, this is a yaoi adaption. That means Boys Love.  
Not your piece of cake? Leave it on the tray. Someone else might find it edible.  
Enjoy?~  
(A side note, Strawberry is referred to as 'Ichi' or 'Ichigo' in this story, because the Japanese word for 'Strawberry' is 'Ichigo'. My younger self should really have paid more attention to this :/  
Sorry for any confusion!)

* * *

They gazed over the sun filled pastures, shade from the great tree above them cooling and letting a soft breeze slide through the leaves to ruffle their hair.  
"Every time I sit up… and look over the Down… " Hazel began to say. "It fills me with such a… oh, heavens if I know! But I do tell you Fiver it sure warms me right to the core."  
His younger brother smiled quietly -_knowingly_- in response. Fiver's silence was more comfort than Hazel ever needed and together they watched the night turn light blue, faces upturned to watch the stars scatter themselves over an entire oblivion. The night was still; bodies of their friends lay undisturbed in the burrows bellow, and the gentle drone of fireflies filling the air with scents of long ago Summers and strawberries tickling Hazel's nostrils.

"So!" Bigwig grinned, shouldering a younger blonde haired rabbit. "What's the story with you and Ichi-chan?"  
The blonde rabbit scowled and turned to face Bigwig.  
He was Dandelion, one of Hazel's most repected rabbits of the warren. He was a runner like golden lightning and a story-teller who's words seemed to have been weaved by El-ahrairah himself.

"His name," began Dandelion "is Strawberry and on his behalf I would appreciate the lack of your patronizing pet names."  
Bigwig grinned like a chesire cat. "Don't be such a sour puss! Liven up, Dandelion old chap!"  
_Easy enough for him_, Dandelion thought. _Always anticipaiting the impossible- captain of Watership Free and Easy Owsla indeed!_  
"You should get back to your duties instead of loafing over me." He retorted icily, swotting the older rabbit as he leaned over his shoulder. "I hate it when you always assume things about Strawberry and I."  
" Aah! But i need not have to '_assume_' these things, firstly because '_assuming_' makes an '_ass_' out of 'yo_u_' and '_me_', and secondly, because I know they're true."

Dandelion was growing tiresome of Bigwig's wise and mighty squibble talk so he pushed his way past him and out of the main burrow in hopes of escaping such random twitter. No luck. "Don't try and deny it my naïve little chap," he called, poking the little scar that rested on Dandelions cheek to irritate him.  
He'd received it after a tussle with another lendri some way out in the corn fields.

' A war scar ', Bigwig called it. Unlucky footing more like.

"I don't have any idea what you're trying to say you buffoon!" he huffed.  
"Aw come on," Bigwig smirked, leaning close to his face. "You don't expect me to refuse to register details of your appearance, Dandy."

The master story-teller blinked. "Huh?" his nose twitched a little with uncertainty.

"I'm talking about your new little flower headpiece."

Dandelion froze. What stung the most in his mind at that moment was not the thought of being caught out - but the shame of having to admit defeat in Bigwig's midst. "Umm…"

The owsla officer's eyes shone with triumphant glee. "Strawberry made it for you: right?" Dandelion could feel his cheeks turning pink.  
"You have no proof so I don't know what you're grinning about!" he mumbled dejectedly. But Bigwig wasn't fooled.  
Tormented with embarassement, Dandelion broke into a run and set off out into the small copse a mile or so from the warren. To a place where he could hide and think, a place to sit amongst the beautiful flowers and dream.

A place where he knew Strawberry was waiting.

Strawberry _had_ made him a new flower piece that he always tucked behind his soft rabbit ears for comfort. It was sewn together so beautifully; you wouldn't think Strawberry could have mastered it on his own.  
But his fingers were nimble and he worked quietly by himself; day in and day out to perfect the small chain of dandelion flowers that formed a tiny, yet perfect little bouqet.

Dandelion felt his insides turn gooey as memories of the younger rabbit's gift was presented. He badly wanted to see him, for some bewildering reason. Maybe it was just the way Bigwig had used his name so familiarly.  
Come to think of it, what had he called him? Dandy… Dandy-…sama?  
Suddenly, Strawberry's face appeared in Dandelions mind; eyes big and sparkling looking up at him with great respect. His cheeks were slightly flushed as he whispered "D-Dandy-sama…!"

'Dandy-sama' had a spectacular nosebleed when he thought of this. Dash it, what am I thinking? He thought, wiping the blood from his nostrils.

Just as he got to his feet, the real Strawberry emerged from the bushes a little way in front of him. "Oh…!" he said, face lighting with adoration when he saw the older rabbit in the clearing.  
Dandelion pulled a straight face and marched towards him, going over in his head what he had to say. Things like not to be so obvious with his gifts and such. But when he was close enough to see Strawberry's bright, sparkling pink eyes he could only let a smile overtake his lips and a pale blush his cheeks.

"Dandelion-kun!" Strawberry said excitedly, holding up a basket of flowers. " Look at how many were in bloom!"

"Did you pick them all?" Dandelion deadpanned.

Strawberry chuckled and began to tow the other rabbit into the bushes and towards the blooming flowers.  
"No silly!" He showed him the shaded fields brimming with miraculous, rainbow coloured flowers that filled the air with elegant scents and reflected the colours of one another brilliantly;every colour of the rainbow, glimmering in the dazzling Summer sunshine.

"Wow…" Dandelion breathed, trying to take it all in. "I honestly wasn't expecting so many to be in bloom this early…"

Strawberry was arranging the flowers in his basket whilst humming a tune he'd heard coming from a hrudrudu once. "Me neither! But look how wonderful they are!"  
The two of them stood staring at the magical array before their eyes. After a few minutes though, Strawberry tugged his older friend's sleeve and turned to go. But the visions of Bigwig's smug faced flashed across Dandelion's mind.

He was in no hurry to be going back. "Um! How about we just hang about here a little longer?" he said hurriedly, pulling Strawberry with him into a patch of thorn bushes.

Strawberry was baffled by Dandelion's behaviour. Why was he so flustered? Furthermore, why was he dragging Strawberry along in his company?  
As these questions whirled like an angry winter's blizzard in the young rabbit's mind, Dandelion lost his footing and fell head first into a thornbush.

"Eek!" Strawberry yelped in surprise. "Hey, Dandelion you okay?"

The blonde rabbit boy sat up and blew some thorns off of the bridge if his nose.

"_OWCH._"

With a heave and lots of groaning, Strawberry managed to help him to his feet.  
"If you weren't in such a hurry maybe you would have avoided that," Strawberry suggested, smiling inspite of himself.  
Dandelion was brushing the sharp, clinging thorns off of his clothes and didn't pay much attention but when he looked up and both of their eyes met, he felt something spark.

"Hey… Strawberry?" he asked gingerly.

Strawberry didn't know what question was coming, but at least it distracted him from the weird look Dandelion was giving him... sort of.

"Your fringe…"

His heart began to pound in his throat, and his cheeks darkened slightly as he realised they had knotted their fingers together without noticing.

"... Why do you always... _sweep it over one side_?" His question became blunt towards the end and hit Strawberry like a lead weight.

"**Wh-whaaaaat?**" he shrieked, cheeks now red with anger. "**What kind of a question is that?**"

Dandelion looked vaguely bored. "I was curious."

In a huff, Strawberry stole his hand back from Dandelion's grasp, spun on his heel and began to march his way back through the thorn bushes, closely followed by a slightly confused Dandelion.  
"Straw… Hey wait on me would you!"

"Hmph!" Strawberry pouted, continuing to push his way back towards the flower fields.

"Did I say something to upset you?" Dandelion asked in distress. "Or… Was there something you wanted me to ask you?"

They both stopped.

Strawberry's heart had worked it's way back into his lungs and was hammering itself against his skin… ｄｏｋｉ ｄｏｋｉ  
"W-well I…" His back was faced to him, but Strawbeerry could feel Dandelion's soft blue eyes boring into the back of his neck.

Dandelion was puzzling it all over in his head. _What now?_ He thought. _What's going through your mind?_ He was uncomfortably eager to know and when they eventually started walking again, Dandelion found himself blushing.  
Strawberry's cheeks were also red. _Was__ I expecting him to ask me something?_ He question himself. _Dash it, I feel such a fool!_  
But as the two rabbits emerged once more in the copse… Strawberry shyly coughed and mumbled something.

"I… I brush my fringe over to hide my eye mostly… There's not a real reason for it I just…" then he hurriedly began to walk again, leaving Dandelion red faced and blinking uncontrollably in his absence.

Hazel was waiting for Dandelion to return and pounced on him as soon as he entered the honeycomb.  
"Ah! Dandelion, just the chap I've been after, come come we must make haste- my, why do you looked so flushed?"

Dandelion grinned sheepishly but said nothing and so Hazel simply shrugged away his suspicions and continued to push and prod him out of the honeycomb and back into fresh air.

"Bigwig's discovered some sort of strange… Well, winding sort of thing down near Nuthanger- some place towards the bottom of Watership." he explained.  
Dandelion frowned and failed to see how this concerned him.

Hazel sensed this and winked at him. "I rather fancy sending you and Blackberry down there to investigate for me- yes two sensible fellows like you seem trustworthy."

Deep in his stomach, Dandelion felt a ball of pride rising within him. "Y-you mean...?"

Hazel nodded his head and waved him off to join Blackberry who was waiting some way down the Down. "No need for thanks just get going and good heavens be careful!" He watched as the two of them ran off like a proud parent sending his children off to school for the first time. _I just hope this all goes right_, he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Hooray~ More Watership Down!

* * *

Fiver sat alone in his burrow, wallowing in deep dark thoughts. Hazel failed in his many attempts to try and bring him from his gloomy lair, but as he knew all to well, his efforts were to no avail.

Twists of black smoke and curls of menacing clouds clogged his mind, and he started to kick up the dirt in the burrow around him, struggling to free himself of this curséd nightmare.

" _The warren… As winter joins in hand with the cold upcoming ni-frith's, one and only one may be sacrificed_." a voice purred in his head; the very same voice that originally warned young Fiver of Sandleford.

"Who?" he shrieked, throwing himself against the wall. "What is required for this-this sacrif— _gyaaaaaaa_!"  
Fiver shook his head vigorously, but still the voice hissed warnings in his ear, sometimes the sound drifting from a low, hushed whisper to a deafening drone of rapid speech.  
For an uncomfortably long amount of time, Fiver wrestled with himself in the burrow, eyes occasionally snapping open, wide with fear and then sliding sluggishly shut. Chills of winter trembled to his very core.

Nothing could have woken Fiver at that moment, his own madness slowly killing him; eating away his soul. The air remained thick and heavy with cold; a ghastly wind howled around his large sensitive brown ears.  
"Oooh! Oh! HAZEL! Hazel the cold! The Down— keep away from the ice! Hazel!"

At the very first yell of his name, Hazel was on the scene, shaking his younger brother to wake him from the oppresive sleep which held him captive.  
"Fiver! Dear Frith, wake up!" he snapped through gritted teeth, also fighting the icyness in the air.  
But the small rabbit was completely cocooned in fear, clutching his head and wailing in such an inhumane- even demonic- way. Eventually, after what seemed to Hazel an eternity Fiver seemed to calm and Hazel- sweating from the effort to pin his monstrous brethren to the dusty floor and bloody from several punches and kicks to the face- managed to wake him with a sigh of relief.

"Still…" Fiver croaked (his voice became worn away because of the amount of screaming).  
Hazel wiped away said blood and thanked Frith that none of his injuries were serious.  
"Still the winter will… Ask for our… Our…" but by this time, he was much too tired and frightened to even begin to explain. For the first time since that morning, Fiver properly, fully opened his eyes and _saw_.  
He saw the puzzled gaze of his brother looking back and fresh, dew drop tears welled in his eyes.

"Hazel…" he gulped. _I'm here_… Hazel gave him an earnest look. There was something more to Fiver's fit than he was letting him on to believe. Never before had he acted like this.  
Fiver's arms wrapped around Hazel's waist and, sobbing pitifully like a newborn rabbit kitten, buried his face into the warm chest that stood so firm beside him.

"How bad was it?" Bigwig asked, sitting on a back to front chair and picking his teeth.

"Bad enough," Hazel grunted, tearing his shirt off and examing the bruises that lined his chest and stomach. "I've never seem him like that before. _Never_."  
He made sure to stress the importance of the word but Bigwig only seemed disappointed by the fact no real fights broke out.

"Well, the little mite will recover soon enough and be up and about, day dreaming and fretting over nothing as usual." he snorted.

Hazel wasn't convinced. He knew better than anyone that when Fiver played up, it meant bad things were to come. He shook his head and tried to distract himself of the matter.  
"How did Dandelion and Blackberry find it on the Owsla the other day?" pulling the white cotton shirt over his head.

A stiffled chuckle could be heard from Bigwig. "Got on like a house on fire they did."

"You sound like there was more to it," said Hazel, growing suspiscious. " I hope you're not tormenting anyone with that attitude of yours, Thayli."

The officer stood from his chair and waltzed towards the runs that lead out of Hazel's grand burrow. "And Bigwig," Hazel called, sensing the other rabbit stop. "Keep an eye on Fiver for me. It worries me what happened yesterday…"

* * *

Thanks for reading this far everybody~  
Please review and give me pointers...?


	3. Chapter 3

(A note to consider- in this fan fiction, previous to these events, Hazel and Dandelion used to go out )  
The main pair of this chapter are Dandlion/Strawberry and Acorn/Speedwell. And I know many of you want to hear the stories behind this (e.g. how Acorn got injured,etc.) but I really don't have the patience nor time to write that all out... Sorry!

* * *

"Feeling better?" Hazel asked, entering his brother's burrow.  
Fiver gave him a sorrowful glance. "No." he groaned. "If anything I feel worse."

Hazel chuckled and sat on his brothers bed, examining him carefully. "You still look pale," he noted. "Maybe you should stay in bed a bit longer?" Fiver snorted.  
"Hazel; if I stay cooped up in here any longer I'll become a vegetable!"  
Hazel sighed apologetically. His brother could tell he was trying his best to make him comfortable and relaxed a little.

"How are Dandelion and Strawberry doing?" asked the younger rabbit as he swung his legs out of bed. Hazel squashed up next to him and shrugged, trying not to be distracted from his sibling's health.  
"They're getting on just fine now," he admitted. "Strawberry is lucky and I know he realises that."

Fiver looked at Hazel carefully. "You don't mind?"  
There was a pause before Hazel sighed and leaned back, a smile playing delicately along his lips. "No. I had my chance and I didn't waste it. I love Dandelion. So much that i would be willing to let him go if that's what he wanted."

He faced Fiver. "That goes for any Sandleford Rabbit."  
Fiver smirked. "Even Bigwig?"  
Laughter echoed through the burrow as Hazel ruffled his younger brother's hair playfully. "Even Bigwig."

Strawberry and Dandelion pulled out of another passionate kiss to embrace as Dandelion stroked his partner's hair and whispered softly. "I better go now…"  
Strawberry could be heard sighing over his shoulder and clung to the green shirt that clad the blond rabbit's upper body. "But we only ever see each other at silflay now…" he whined as Dandelion pulled him back to examine his face. "… I miss you."  
Strawberry's cheeks were pink and his long fringe hid most of his face, concealing what Dandelion knew must be a lovely matching pink eye that would gleam beautifully in the light.  
He often accused Strawberry of being selfish by hiding such a pretty face which got him a gorgeous blush and a not so glamorous bruised arm. Smiling, Dandelion leaned closer he brushed his lips against Strawberry's whilst whispering, "Me too." before withdrawing his hand from inside the other boy's hair.

He pulled his jumper on, fastening the buttons and waved to the cute little pink haired boy on his bed before leaving. Strawberry watched him go sadly then decided to go and clean himself off, before going back out. As he splashed water over himself, he couldn't help but think about his mellow haired lover.  
He was happy how they'd steadily progressed with their relationship. Things at first seemed rocky for them both, but as Strawberry settled into the warren and the rabbits settled with him things looked up considerably. Pulling on his blazer, he decided to retreat to his own burrow where he would sit impatiently until silflay when he could drag Dandelion away to be alone with each other.

Acorn sat and watched Hawkbit and Buckthorn tussling in the grass.  
After receiving a somewhat fatal wound when the weasel attacked (**A/N:-again,a previous event**) he was strictly excluded from any violent displays like the other two.  
"_Nor with your current partner may you be caught with that leg_," Hazel whispered to him later both embarassing and disappointing Acorn.  
He knew what Hazel meant and tried to avoid the matter at all costs. He was still unsure of it himself and still felt uncomfortable if it was mentioned in front of him.

The clouds above him swirled neatly and carelessly like whisps of candyfloss caught in the breeze. He missed Fiver and longed for his company once more, as he knew Pipkin did when he wasn't having lessons on self defence drilled into him by Bigwig.  
Who knows, maybe even then.  
With a sigh, Acorn stood and hobbled with difficulty into the honeycomb. There weren't many rabbits inside; most were enjoying the best of the Autumn sunshine while they could and so only Silver, Bluebell, Hazel, Hyzenthlay and Dandelion were gathered.  
Dandelion, he noticed, and Bluebell seemed to be the newest and unofficial members of the free and easy Owsla. He also noticed that Hyzenthlay was taking much pride in proving her skills as a runner, telling them the routes of the downs and whatever else she felt would prove to be even the slightest bit of importance.

If the two Sandleford rabbits were to join the team, no doubt they'd have to make Dandelion a runner. He was the fastest of them all. But Speedwell was fast too. Thinking of his boyfriend made Acorn's face flare bright pink but he tried to hide it best as he could when the other rabbits walked over to join him. He was too busy trying to guard his own expression, that he didn't notice Dandelion's face strewn with worry. He had a bad feeling about what was to come next.

A few minutes previously

"As I'm sure you're aware, due to Fiver's current state he has been taken off duty until further notice," Hazel said, shooting his calm demeanor first at Dandelion, then the jokester Bluebell next to him. "So because of our situation of these mysterious creatures, Hyzenthlay, Bigwig and I have decided to employ two new members to proceed with our plan."

He nodded at the independant doe to continue.

"Dandelion and Bluebell, you know of our initiative don't you?" she asked.  
"Eat the demons." Bluebell said with false innocence that got him a series of evil glares, each more intimidating than the rest.  
Dandelion began to feel uneasy.

"Our plan is quite simply to lure these creatures out like we did before except this time keep them cornered long enough for Bigwig to land his lot." Bluebell sniggered.  
She waited until he had finished before continuing. "We have our allocated runners, sentries and captains as usual-"  
"All of which shall 'land their lot'," Bluebell murmured loudly.

Hazel cuffed him over the head for both interuption and insolence and Hyzenthlay threw up her hands in dismay. "I can't work with this joker! He's more likely to make conversation with the creatures than act helpless. He's far too lively to act lame." she snapped.  
"I thought you liked lively?" Bluebell asked sweetly. He was answered with a warning look.  
"Wait…lame?" Dandelion asked in confusion.

Behind them, Acorn entered the honeycomb. Chief rabbit and runner exchanged glances before turning back to Dandelion.  
"Originally, Bluebell was supposed to lure the creatures out as a lame rabbit. And you were to be a sentry, Dandelion." Hazel told him kindly. _What_?

Though he didn't boast, Dandelion knew he was the fastest runner in the warren and took pride in it.  
"Bigwig is your captain and Hyzenthlay will be a stand by runner."  
Even Hyzenthlay hadn't heard this news and turned to Hazel in surprise.

"But we need another rabbit for bait," he continued. "This one isn't going to be too easy to cooperate with."  
Bluebell took every insult in good nature and shrugged.  
"Acorn," Hyzenthlay suggested, noticing for the first time the wounded rabbit hovvering in the corner. "He's a strong-willed fellow with a good bit of sense."  
"But he _is_ lame!" Dandelion protested.

He could see that Hazel too was concerned but made no outbursts. "Perhaps we should ask him what he thinks first."  
Dandelion already knew what Acorn would say. There was a horrible churning in his gut that told him no good would come of his decision. Fiver's suspicions had begun to grow on him.

After they'd explained the plan and situation to Acorn, though hesitant at first, to Hyzenthlay's joy he agreed to be 'bait'. Hazel even managed to smile and squeeze his shoulder encouragingly. But Dandelion only bowed his head and felt unbearably tense for something that he had not done wrong.  
Yet.

* * *

A~nd... we're done again for another chapter!  
I think the next one is a little long, so it may take time to redraft and publish. But I promise I'll get on it A.S.A.P!  
Until that time, please keep reviewing and reading!


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter has very mild swearing. And not _really _yaoi. Could be considered more homoertocism in this chapter.

* * *

It was the night of the planned confontation of the mysterious creatures and though many tried to hide it, every rabbit was on edge. Dandelion and Acorn especially. After a quick silflay before the rain and dark set in, every Owsla rabbit had been ordered to stay above ground whilst the rest waited anxiously in the Honeycomb.  
Strawberry and Dandelion had hardly been apart all day. The younger rabbit was gushing over Dandelion's position as sentry and tried his best to convince how great this job was.  
Which earned him a grateful smile.  
Things between Acorn and Speedwell, however, had been a different story. Speedwell had tried to make Acorn refuse his position as 'bait' because he was convinced the whole idea was just plain ridiculous.  
"It's practically suicide!" he claimed in anger, but Acorn had argued, saying it wasn't anything stupid in the least and that he was no longer and child, and therefore was independant enough to carry this task out.  
The two had bickered for what seemed to Acorn like centuries before he stormed away, still clinging fast to his opportunity he might have in the Owsla. It was impossible to tell if things were going well or not.

Everyone was in position and as the moon began to rise so elegantly over the downs, casting a veil of white light over all that came within it's reach, Acorn sat shivering at the foot of the down.  
He could hear an owl someway off and Frith knew how many Elil were prowling amongst the copses.

The other rabbits had taken their places a few yards to his left, right and Hazel and Blackberry waited in the stillness halfway up the hill. But Acorn there was isolated and fearful. Dark claws of doubt began to grasp his heart.  
He was alone.  
Scared.  
He was completely helpless.

_That's the plan_, he kept having to remind himself. _If I lie here long enough to lure them out then the others will be with me in no time_.

But it wasn't easy resisting the urge to limp hurriedly back up the hill and into the arms of Speedwell. Time dragged slowly. The night was alive with silent noise; the rustling and squeaking of frightened mice, Autumn winds rippling over water and then the drone of a hrudrudu in the very far distance.  
Several times, Acorn stared into the darkness of the bushes in which he was stationary infront of. This was where the creatures would have to appear from. Blackberry's assumptions weren't seemingly just estimates to the Watership Rabbits and they had full confidence in his calculations. Acorn sat rigid, unable to relax and offered himself to the night monsters.

Dandelion bit his lip for the third time in anticipation and sighed, wiping the prick of blood away with his tongue. Though rabbits have no way of keeping time in sense of days or minutes eccetera, it had been two and half hours since they had set up.  
Not one of the rabbits had relaxed and Dandelion felt that Acorn must be feeling more than uncomfortable by now. Bigwig was scratching his ear thoughtfully and tweaked his collar up against the cold of midnight as it grew close.

"How do these creatures move?" Dandelion asked, turning to Hyzenthlay.  
"I'm not too sure. Quietly; they have a good sense of direction."  
"Slow," Bigwig grunted. "Big eyes, Acorn'll have to watch out for 'em."

Dandelion nodded listlessy and then he heard it; a deep, low hiss whispering through the trees. The others had heard it too and stood stock still, eyes wide, hands shaking. Along with the hissing came the unmissable padding of feet, three pairs it sounded to Dandelion, though he barely registered it as he was too scared to breathe. One pair of feet sounded clumsier and noisier than the rest. Was it another animal? A rabbit perhaps? This all made his head spin but as the sounds progressed towards the bait, he steadied himself long enough to watch the plan take effect.  
He couldn't tell why he felt paralysed.

Acorn heard the creatures before he saw them, slinking quietly through the bushes but the low hiss of something resembling a prowling cat reached his large, sensitive brown ears.  
Trying to steady his racing heart, he focussed his eyes on the thorn bushes infront of him. After a short while, the hissing ceased and Acorn grew tense.  
Had they sensed the other rabbits and left? Or were they just readying to strike?  
He got a horrible shock when two sets of glinting green eyes flashed from the bushes. A stone cold paw was set forward and Acorn could faintly hear a murmur from Hazel that the wind carried to his recognition.  
_It's all going to plan_.  
Easing his nerves as much as one could in the presence of two rumouredly savage beasts, Acorn thought he caught glimpse of something in the bushes to his far right. He gulped. Claws? Had the creatures split up to attack?  
_Oh Hazel_, he thought desperately, _please hurry_.  
Hazel and Blackberry had hopped further downhill and rested just above Acorn. They saw his reaction and assumed the beasts were closing in. They had not seen the glint of the moon and were decently composed.  
"We shall get him out of there, shan't we Hazel?" an anxious Blackberry asked his friend.  
"Yes." came the firm reply. "No matter what."

Dandelion squinted to try and catch a better glimpse of his solitary comrade. He noticed he was frozen stiff like they were mere moments beforehand and grew nervous on his behalf.  
Hyzenthlay could sense this and pressed her body close to his in a way of saying, '_He'll be fine_'.  
The group were straining every one of their senses to capture what they could. But what happened next was so fast they felt like they were barely moving in comparison; as if they were almost under a malfunction.

(A/N:**Goddamit why are my paragraphs so short?**)

There was a low thumping sound pounding in Acorn's ears and he realised it was his heartbeat. Shifting his leg slightly, he could glimpse half of the creature's body beneath the cover of the thorns and shivered.  
The brunette had to coax it out enough for it to be cornered and pinned.  
_Nearly_…  
Something rustled in the bush and once again he looked up, to see the familiar glint. This time though, the object looked smooth and cylindrical as it poked boldly out of one of the bushes.  
There was the undeniable shimmer of moon on metal that Acorn realised too late. A loud crack tore across the field that made every rabbit jump and freeze, tensing on the edge to bolt.  
The bullet hit the lame rabbit with such force he was airborne briefly before crashing to the ground as blood spurted from his bandaged leg. The three Owsla groups watched in horror.  
Acorn's head was screaming in pain and his leg muscles throbbed in agony. He let out a low moan and began to grind his teeth together as fat salty tears of pain rolled down his cheeks.  
He could not move.  
So much was at stake he knew, but the fear and hurt had him rooted to the spot as he writhed silently. Blackberry hopped hesitantly forward a few shaky steps before being stopped abruptly by Hazel. Letting his gaze drift back to his wounded companion, he noticed two sleek objects emerge from the copse.

His stomach dropped and his eyes grew wide as he saw them coil around Acorn and hiss, spit and twitch. Dandelion failed to support himself and fell once or twice, completely mesmerized in fear of what was happening in front of him.  
"No…" he whispered.

Acorn could feel them.  
They were cold and deathly, reeking of blood and disease. His shoulders were still shaking from a mix of pain, fear and chill but none could measure up to the undescribable emotion that engulfed him when they were combined.  
Then he felt the earth slip slowly away from him, as he was dragged into the copse. Panic stricken, he screamed.  
He writhed in the clutches of the monsters and flailed until he thought he would pass out. He could not even recognise his voice or decipher the rubbish that jumped from his lips.  
It was inhumane what was happening to him. He felt like he was already dying.

Dandelion was the first and only to act for Acorn. "Help him!" he snapped to Hyzenthlay and Bigwig who were stockstill.  
On his own instinct, he dashed forward, only to be tackled down by the hefty Owsla captain.

"There are no orders for this! There have been no instructions to aid him," he said through gritted teeth as he forced the younger rabbit's head into the ground.  
"He's our friend!" Dandelion screamed through a mouthful of grass. "We have to help him! I can run!"  
Acorn noticed the commotion as his lower body slid into the thorns.

"_Dande—hel—don-leav-me_!" his words were stopped with cries and sobs of distress. His face was smeared with his own blood and tears, eyes wild with fear.  
"I'll save you!" Dandelion cried back, wrestling desperately. Bigwig had a hard time holding him down as a new strength overcame him in his eagerness to rescue Acorn. "I CAN RUN!" he screamed, throat burning. "LET ME GO! I'M THE FASTEST! I'LL CATCH HIM- I PROMISED HIM!"

Acorn's screams became muffled as his lips were torn amongst the thorns.  
But his hand clawed and waved wildly, waiting for Dandelion to pull him to safety. As the dagger sharp needles cut his neck, he felt claustraphobia clutch him and Acorn knew he was drowning in that regiment of spite.  
He put up the best fight he could, to keep his fingertips poking through the thorns.

Dandelion kicked and punched and struggled with all his might. He had nearly prized Bigwig off as only his hands hesitantly clutched his waist and shoulder.  
"NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK I CAN CATCH HIM!" he yelled in defiance. He leaned forward, stretching his neck and straining his eyes.

But it was too late.

For the few seconds he had held on for, Acorn's leg failed him and the young, solitary rabbit passed into darkness, his torn fingers dragged under the bush and out of sight.

The whole area was dead silent for a long time. But reality hit home at last.  
Dandelion's knees gave out beneath him as he crashed into a dejected heap. He cried loudly without shame and without care; only regret. Bigwig loosened his grip as the sentry began to shake and wail uncontrollably.  
His tears swallowed up the earth and his face, as he screamed over and over between various hiccuping sobs; "I could've ran! I could've ran faster and caught him!"

The night was filled with his crying of indignity as the other Owsla joined them. Blackberry and Hyzenthlay were shedding silent tears but the rest stood composed on the whole.  
Hazel led them and stood over the wasted Dandelion in complete authorative fashion.  
"Stand up, this is no time for tears," he said sternly and almost coldly. "Stand up, Dandelion."

Without being told again, and burning with hatred, the blonde rabbit scrambled to his feet and threw a fist at the Chief Rabbit, who was caught completely offguard. He continued to pound his fists against him and it took both Bigwig and Silver to peel him off, but he was still seething with rage.  
"YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME RUN!" he screamed at Hazel. "YOU DAMN BASTARD! ACORN IS DEAD BECAUSE YOU WOULDNT SAVE HIM! YOU SELFISH MORON! YOU LET HIM DIE BUT I COULD HAVE RAN!"

Once again, he fell to his knees and, adverted to tears, still mumbling. "I should have ran… You should have let me…"  
The rabbits were all shocked and upset because of the outburst and the death they had witnessed. Hazel, above all was most shocked. He watched the broken boy before him cry until he was sure he would break aswell.

Then, wiping blood from his face, he ordered everyone back inside and completely hollow, they obeyed. It took a lot of convincing and pleading to get Dandelion to move. He was barely halfway up the hill before he fainted. Bigwig carried him to his burrow where Strawberry was waiting anxiously.  
The younger rabbit had waited there after everyone heard the gunshots and screams. The state of his friend alarmed him even more and after listening to Bigwig's advice to let him be, he decided to watch him until he settled into a comfortable sleep. Whatever happened out there tonight, had obviously crushed heart and soul of every rabbit that beared witness.

Outside, rain began to fall and slowly wash away the pool of scarlett blood that was the only cold dead memory of Acorn.

Yes; I've tweaked a few things. I know that Acorn died of Winter hardships in _Tales From Watership Down_, but I just couldn't bring myself to have Acorn die in the space of a few paragraphs with no more words in his favour.

I hope you enoyed this chapter- it was difficult to write!

* * *

If the constant changes between character POV confuse you, sorry.  
..But I can't be bothered to adjust it!  
Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Soooo, after some strange unexplained and unaccounted haitus, I'm returning with my Watership Down fiction :'D  
Anyway, in this chapter I'll be introducing you to my OC Ashbury (Ash for short) and some small hints to my others, Captain Bailey Willow (rabbit can has long name even if it ain't in lapine :U) and Poppy, Ash's sister.

Haters. It be a coincidence Ash-Rabbit and Ash-Pokemon have the same name. I kid you not.

* * *

Cold earth soaked through his fur and made him shiver with exhaustion, a tempting desire to drift into a comatosed blackness engulfing the last vestiges of his hope and-what felt like-his sanity. His large, sensitive ears were pressed to the ground and could hear the opressive _thump-thump-thump_ of feet racing in his direction.  
His chest heaved in fast, gasping pants but he did not move for there was no possible escape now.  
_  
Was she safe?_ He wondered only this.

True, in his mind a thousand different regurgitations of this question enveloped his brain but his conclusion still came to anxiety.  
_Thump, thump, thump_.  
They weren't very far now. He'd ran. He'd ran as fast as could, for as long as his legs would carry him. Poppy had always told him to run. Run and hide. But they were fast— faster than him it had seemed. Zig-zagging through the undergrowth and dragging enough blood to awake any hlessil from it's slumber, he hesitated at the looming beach hanger that weaved through the countryside like a regimented ghost town, each tree standing tall and solitary; straight as a blade of frosted grass and dark as Inlé himself.  
A man-thing; even the trees had been corrupt as well as their land and homes. They were attacking the sweet nature of living. He only could explain it as luck shining blindly over him, and never letting him bask in it's glow; he could only watch.  
And run.  
Through the hanger he trembled, as open a target as the night unsettled in Summer, darting wide-eyed into a copse of thorn bushes, and struggling through their scratching claws with difficulty, feet pounding the ground and sending him tearing like a fresh bullet through the copse.

But exhaustion took him over, as it does any soul who has been running a great distance for whatever amount of time. He would not experience the runner's high one gets after winning an important race, nor would he chance to rest himself.  
He simply.  
Had.  
To.  
Stop.  
And here he lay, unconcealed in a meadow with clipped, bitter grass and primroses wafting "_sssshhhh_…" above his head. It was cloudy, a jumble of forgotten fog encircling inside of him and he felt as though he had been struck hard full on in the chest. Where his heart was as it whined for her, and whined for a miracle; for El-ahrairah to save him.  
She'd always told him to run, but no longer could he, his breathing slowing, eyelids slipping and sticking together like a flower's bloom in backwards motion. He was tired of running. But they weren't. They will find him. Who knows what will happen; but no longer will he run.

The primroses swayed gentle in solemn, rythmic dance. The rabbits found him lying crumpled in a meadow and immediately began towing him away. This one had ran and a merry dance it had led them, too. He was bound to run again, faster, longer than before. He was short and slim, but they had years to ammend his talents. They would tailor him and fix all other thoughts but duty to his mind and then he would most certainly be ready. It was about time.

He opened one eye as his ears clogged with dirt and loose grass. It smelt of rain and anticipation. He heard the primroses, "_sssssssshhhhh_…" And closed his eyes once more.


	6. Chapter 6

Back again (:  
Thought I'd call quits this soon? I sure did, but I'm glad I've come back and really hope to pursue this fiction right until the end.

* * *

Captain Bailey was not usually, per say, a rabbit of serious demeanor. No, he liked to see himself as a more laid back and simple-minded official. However, he could choose when to be stern and give a straightforward command if it so pleased him.  
Bailey liked to have adventure and breathe in the uniqueness of a moment. To those around him, in the organised and well kept warren in which he resided, it may strike as an unusual ambition but he cared not.

Each day he would strive for a new beginning, and longed to bargain or gamble for any amount of excitement and spice life could offer him. Captain Bailey was a tall young buck, with a strong build. He was quite the striking and handsome fellow among the warren rabbits; as much the bucks as does. Two white scars ran along one cheek after an unsuccessful argument with an Owslafa officer when he was younger. He had been born into a litter of three, all bucks. His younger brothers were raised just as he was, but when he was a few months old he strayed from his mother and was taken in by the Vaorah Warren (**A/N:- **_'Vaorah' is Lapine for 'Blessing'. Literally, 'Blessing Warren'_)_._

He didn't call it a rescue exactly. Though, it was neither entrapment or enclosure against his will: he was fed, ranked high in his tight packed community and had the opportunity to leave on Wide Patrols as and when he wished.  
No, there were certainly no major necessity deprivions on his behalf.  
The only thing that Bailey hungered most was adventure. But how, he regularly asked himself as he sat watching the busy warren from an abandoned cabbage patch on the wood hill, was he to find what he lustered so in a warren— in a place— like this?

* * *

His answer came to him one day as he sat nibbling a thin blade of sweet grass in the dusk of a beautifully warm Summer evening.  
The air was still and only lightly tickled by sweet scents of honeydew and forgotten flayrah. He assumed it was the cabbage leaves that lay torn and rotten further uphill. It did not make his nose curl anymore for he had grown accustomed to the putrid stench as he climbed the steep upper ground most days for peace and quiet time.

On this particular day, the warren seemed to be all a-hustle and bustle, with sentries and Owsla all jumpy and lower rabbits curiously chatting amoung themselves in wonder. Bailey did not realise what the fuss and commotion was about until he spotted, coming down the cross-over point, a small band of a familiar Wide Patrol the warren had sent out some two days ago.  
Leaning forward for closer inspection of the advancing group, Bailey played back his thoughts to a couple of evenings past. A lot of fuss had gone up about two rabbits seen not so far away and alarm rose when a panic stricken sentry said they had knocked down two runners already; trying to dart away.

Recognising the two runner rabbits of the group immediately, Bailey gave a short flick of his hand to a tall, pretty doe who's soft chocolate brown hair fell loose over her lean shoulders. She flashed him a smile and called out to him.

"Enjoying yourself up there, Willow?"  
"Uncannily. A bit breezy." came his cheery reply.  
The doe rolled her eyes, but her smile remained taped to her lips in a delicate fashion. "Well, get the breeze is simply delightful down here. Care to join us?"

Grinning in acceptance to her request, Bailey agiley leapt from his comfortably carved ledge and to some lower mounds jutting from the ground in alarmingly dagger-like structures. They reminded him of dripping icicles in Winter he had seen once.  
Joining the Wide Patrol not moments later, Bailey quickly greeted the other bucks and does with a warm smile as he always did.

"You've caused quite the rucuss over there you know," he said, tilting his head towards the warren behind him.  
"It's not been an easy few nights for some, Bailey." The pretty doe mumbled. He tilted his head back to look his friend in the face.  
"We managed to catch one of the rabbits that caused Hark some trouble," she explained. Hark, he assumed was one of the runners from the other night.  
"But it was not an easy fight I tell you."

Generally, any violent or outwardly business didn't interest Bailey and this matter at hand was not much the exception. He raised an eyebrow to illustrate his point but either she didn't notice or didn't care, for the doe continued all the same with her story.

"Ran for about hrair miles, would you believe it? He had a lot of energy to burn, I'll give him that. It was perfectly fair that we caught him in the end though."  
"Was it a bit rowdy then? By the sounds of things I guess he gave you a bit of rough and tumble."  
"That's just the thing though," chipped in Hark who'd been listening to the conversation quietly. "We were certain that he would run to the ends of the Earth and back again- we were all jiggered to Frith-knows from all that sprinting y'see?- but just as suddenly as he'd started he… Well…"  
"Stopped." the doe finished simply.

Captain Bailey did not show any more interest but felt he should hear this right the way through. It seemed as though this was just a cowardly hlessil; running until he would turn himself in gingerly when things looked implausible.  
No one would be expecting any remarkability from it whatsoever.

"But… Bailey you'd never guess…" Hark muttered, almost to himself. "The boy just lay down… Saw us coming and knotted his hands through the grass… And even when we were pulling him away— you have to question them see— all we got was 'tell her I'm sorry. Tell Poppy I won't run anymore. I'm sorry'."

_Boy?_  
Bailey had never been so taken aback before in his life. The words struck him so strangely. His reply seemed to stick in his throat as he thought of this hlessil lying with his fingers knotted through the grass— binding himself to the spot— and apologizing, of all things to those who were dragging him away.  
"Here he comes now, look."  
Bailey's head snapped up and over the shoulders of his two kin, into the face of a stern officer, towing by his side a boy of what looked to be about ten or eleven years old. He was covered in dirt and blood, tears streaming down his face. His hands were bound with rope so thin it could be string. It was not gnawed or clawed like most rabbits had done with it.

The boy walked in almost a zombie-like shuffle, mud encrusted hair and ears swishing listlessly. Bailey continued to stare until the boy looked up with gorgeous brown eyes, deep and dark and almost red in the fading Summer sunshine. Bailey held his gaze for what seemed like an eternity, mesmerized by those irises of innocence and purity. In this tear streaked, panic stricken face, Captain Bailey knew had found his long awaited adventure.

* * *

And that's it for this chapter (:  
Next time is the first introduction to Poppy which Reviews and constructive crtisiscm are welcome as always!


	7. Chapter 7

New chapter time~  
Also returning to the original story after this chapter (:

* * *

Ash awoke from his dream with a start, tears falling freely over his cheeks, tears that were spilling and swallowing the earth beneath him.  
In his ears echoed a thousand laughing ghosts. He could make no sense of where he was; a dark, stuffy burrow and began to struggle in the dust, feeling the claustrophobia grasp at his lungs.  
It didn't smell like home. There was no welcoming touch of Poppy's hand brushing his hair out of his eyes and lulling him back to sleep with her words. But there was a new warmth that filled the small space. It gripped him now, as two fairly large hands reached out and took his shoulders firmly.

"Hey, Bucko! Cool it! Don't fret!" the voice was deep but kind as if verging on friendly laughter. Ash's body went still apart from a shudder that coarsed briefly through his body.  
"A-are you Inlé…?" he croaked in fright. The soft, husky laughter he had anticipated before filled the room with happy sound.  
"Frith no! Me, I'm just a lowly servant."

Ash relaxed and the stranger sensing this, gently withdrew his hands. Sensing no immediate danger, Ash decided to sit up and survey his unfamiliar surroundings.  
It was a small, cell like burrow with a low ceiling and just enough room for two — maybe three— full grown rabbits. It was terribly dark which Ash hated. Poppy had always made sure there was a skylight for the moon and afternoon light to stream through.  
He was petrified of the darkness.

The stranger— Captain Bailey— sensed that the boy was distressed so decide to strike up some conversation.  
Somehow, he'd managed to convince the head Officer to let him house the boy and stay beside him to help him settle. Though he had no idea why for what use was this boy to him?

"Tell me, you must seem pretty confused I apologize, but just how old are you?" he asked softly.  
"I'll be seventeen in September coming." Ash replied absently. Bailey nearly choked. Seventeen?

He certainly didn't look his age though, it was obvious from the oppresive silence that questioning his age was what usually was asked of him. Not wanting to create any glitches on their first meeting, Bailey continued with his questions as calmly as he could muster.

"Sixteen, ok. So what's your name? I'd rather like to get to know you. I'm Willow. Captain Bailey Willow, call me Baily."  
"Ash. It's um… Very nice to meet you…" The boy sounded nervous which, for reasons unbeknown to even himself made Bailey frown.  
"Say, Ash, are you alright?" he asked.  
Ash fidgeted. Aside from being kidnapped and being seperated from my only living relative...  
"…the dark always makes me… Y-you see I just don't…"

Bailey nodded but, realising that his young aquaintance couldn't really see, he quickly scraped the ceiling away until strands of hot amber sun rays drifted into the chamber.  
Ash took a shaky breath and let his pulse slow as he assured himself he was fine. After a few moments of calming, he stole a glance at his company, receiving a slight shock when he realised that it was the same handsome young man he'd been captured — metaphorically speaking— by yesterday.

"Oh! You're—!" he gasped.  
Blinking in the faint light, Ash felt the tears still staining his dirt smeared cheeks and swiftly began to rub them away, shyly eager to impress this man.  
"Don't be bothered so much about appearances Ash, I'd rather we got to know each other first." Bailey gave the younger rabbit a heart stopping smile. "Please, share with me whatever you'd like. It's completely confidential."

He hated to sound cliche but the awestruck little rabbit seemed not to care. Ash felt no reason to distrust or dislike this man and suddenly an emotion described only as despair welled in his throat.  
The running, Poppy, lying in the field- it all came flooding back in horribly reality. Suddenly without warning or consideration, everything gushed out at top speed as fresh tears formed in his eyes and he began to shake and tremble from the effort of speech.

Edging closer, just as he finished, Bailey wrapped Ash in a safe, secure hug. Some few minutes later he felt dampness soak his shirt and the undeniabled hiccuping sobs. Then, later still, the younger buck began to shift slightly and breath softer as he drifted into troubled dreams once more.  
Captain Bailey sat stroking Ash's hair, chewing the story that had been spouted from this strange child's lips moments before. He couldn't quite grasp how he had managed to get himself stuck in Vaorah warren while Poppy — his sister— fought off a good deal of their rabbits. Sighing, he shifted the teenager onto his lap where he kept his head rested in a safe cradle of his arm, the other hand brushing hair and tears from the lonely rabbits soft, sleeping features.

* * *

_To Be Continued..._


	8. Chapter 8

New Chapter Time! o:  
Bet you're all excited, RIGHT? Okay, nevermind, enjoy!

* * *

"You were chased?" Hazel asked again, frown visible in the burrow's half light.

Twilight had broken over the downs, drowning the Watership warren in frosty darkness. It had been roughly a month since the loss of Acorn much to Hazel and his commrade's dismay, and about three days since the arrival of a new rabbit; the fiery red headed doe known as Poppy.  
The Owsla sentries Hyzenthlay and Holly had discovered her stumbling through the beech hanger, blood dripping from hundreds of open wounds across her arms and face, attracting frith knows how many elil in her midst.  
They managed to reel her in with only a slight hint of trouble, but she grew reluctant and allowed herself to be dragged back to the Honeycomb, where Hazel bandaged her and questioned the young doe for constant hours of the day.

She was beginning to grow weary of the ever lasting-and sometimes repetitive- quizzing but tried to force a trembling patience.

"Why would you be chased?" Hazel was saying, leaning forward.  
"They must have thought I was a threat…" she sighed, letting her eyelids droop slightly.

However, she was examining carefully the young man in front of her. He was tall, nutbrown hair long and sweeping into his eyes but not scruffy or falling over his shoulders which she hated.  
He also had soft brown eyes which had a hint of an edge to them.

"Who?"  
"The warren a good few miles out from here," she said vaguely.  
Hazel's frowned only deepened as he ran a hand through his hair. "Another warren…?" he mumbled before addressing her again. "Is that where you came from?"  
It was Poppy's turn to frown. "No. Never."  
"Then where-"  
"A long way away from here- far far away. Further than any of you've travelled I bet."

_Try me_, Hazel thought but decided against it. Right now was not the time for childish taunts.

"So you travelled from your warren here?"  
"Yes."  
"Without warning?"  
"Yes."  
"Were you alone?"  
"I can take care of myself perfectly well I'll have you know!" she snapped, ears twitching angrily. Hazel remained composed and simply looked her right in the eye until she had finished her furious outburst.  
"That doesn't answer my question."

There was a short silence, after which Poppy had collected herself and answered with as much etiquette as she could muster.  
"No. I had my brother with me." she said quietly.  
Hazel waited.  
"But?"  
"But they thought he was going to fight them," she whispered. "So I told him to run…"

The word struck Hazel like a blow to the head. His mind played back to that night on the down.  
"He was always a fast runner, he could've ran…"  
"_I COULD HAVE RAN!_"  
Hazel was feeling a little faint, his vision swirling.  
"But he wouldn't leave me. I told him to run." Poppy was beginning to tremble and awful lot now as the memories came flooding back in disapointingly vivid bursts. "They caught him before I could get there. I could have saved him…"  
"_I COULD HAVE SAVED HIM!_"  
"…but they knocked me away… And my little brother was taken."

Again, silence fell over the pair. Poppy couldn't stop her tears and didn't try to but she could see through them to glance at Hazel sitting very quietly and very still.  
"Do you believe that?" he asked quietly, so quietly in fact Poppy had to ask him to repeat himself. "Your brother- do you really believe that you could save him?"  
"...If you can make a leap of faith into the future... it may be hard,but... the time will come when you can shake off the chains of the past. Because that past has nothing to do with you now. I truly believe that..." she sniffed, but with a firm tone.

Hazel nodded once before ducking his head into his hands and groaning long and loud. "I've been an idiot…!" he moaned.  
Poppy blinked, the remaining tears in her eyes spattering the dirt. Hazel was hunched over, his usual stoic demeanor shaken by his own memories.  
Anxiously, Poppy reached a hand out and placed it on his back. As she felt it tremble beneath her touch she regretted ever speaking badly to him in the first place and even pitied him slightly. She realised only then how much he'd been through. Maybe as much as her. The terms that he held with his warren were so informal compared to that of her own, she expected slacking and juvenile behaviour.  
Poppy couldn't have been more wrong.

"Sir," she said in a low pleading voice. "Do you need anything?"  
She crouched infront of him, arms holding him up in fear he might topple over at any given interval. Hazel looked up with glistening eyes, face already stained with salty tears.  
Poppy had seen that look a thousand times before. It was one of her brother's best looks. She gave in to it every time.

She let Hazel's head fall onto her shoulder without reluctance and felt the tears dampen her shirt as well as her own eyes. What was heartbreaking about tears, is that if they're filled with regret you can't fix it with no matter how many words or actions. And striking those memories inside of the brunette, made Poppy guilty.  
As though she didn't have enough of that to deal with.  
Even so, she wrapped her arms around the broader rabbit and rocked back and forth with him, hoping that someone's acknowledging presence would be enough comfort for him.

What seemed like decades later, another rabbit entered the burrow, speaking before he had even looked up.  
He had shining blonde hair and lovely brown eyes but a sad, distant look to him which was nearly as chilling as the sobbing man in her arms.

"…so they managed to track it to the edge of the copse but…" the younger rabbit looked up.

The sight before him held more bewilderment, than he thought if he were to see Bigwig dancing on a hrudrudu.  
"Hazel?" he spluttered, stumbling to his Chief Rabbit's aid out of instinct and raw, long ago friendship than anything else.  
"D-Dandelion," came the hiccuped reply. "I'm sorry-sorry. You were right. Sorry-so right, I should have let you save him. Should have let you run. You _can_ run, you _are_ the fastest and I'm sorry… I wish this could bring him back- bring _you_ back Dandelion… I'm-I'm…"

But the amount of speech that had tumbled from his lips had worn him out, and he had to resort to hiding his face in the blonde's jacket, shoulder's shaking. Dandelion stared.  
Then his face softened sadly.  
"I never left, Hazel. I'm sorry I made you ever think I wasn't there for you." He held the brunette and let his eyes fill with emotion, but Dandelion refused to cry evn though a lump was building in his throat that he just wanted to get rid of. He simply had to swallow it and put on a brave face.  
It was all he could do not to start howling with fresh pain.

Poppy watched them with deep admiration and fascination.  
This warren was something else. It held dark secrets, but they would be held to the light and resolved via any means necessary, and she now had no doubts about the amount of respect each rabbit held for one another.  
However painful, they found their way around these disorientated obstacles. For the first time since she and Ash had left the warren, Poppy felt homesick.

* * *

Ta-daaaah~  
Man, two chapters in one night? I shall rue this day. Hope you guys are liking the story so far. Until next time!


	9. Chapter 9

It's been a while! Hope you're all ready for a new chapter! The story is just heating up!

* * *

It was still bright outside, the thick moss growing over the warren runs and through cracks in forgotten burrows, despite the oncoming cold every rabbit felt dampening his whiskers during the close, chilly evenings underground. Ash had accepted glumly the fact that Vaorah was his home now, and that there was little- if none- hope of ever escaping. But, much like Captain Bailey he did not consider it against his better will. It was Captain Bailey, that had shown him the ropes and was settling him in nicely to Vaorah's way of living. Things struck Ash as slightly out of the ordinary compared to what he was used to, but with Bailey's assurance and constant encouragement, he was trying his best to ease his way through the normal status of living.

Since that day in the chalky burrow, Ash hadn't left Bailey's side but the older rabbit didn't complain for he had little to enjoy in his life being a low ranking official as well as a bit of an all around slacker when he chose to be. After a few days of earning Ash's trust and permitting some in return, he decided to show him the hill were he sat for his fleeting thoughts to consume himself. Excited at anything new as children often are, Ash leapt at the opportunity but the Head Officer was uncertain.

"How do we know to trust this rabbit, Bailey?" he hissed feverently to the other after he had suggested the idea rather openly. "Bear in mind that he savagely attacked two of our finest rabbits."  
Captain Bailey found this incredibly hard to believe that a rabbit as small and inexperienced as Ash could pull off a stunt like that but strained his smile to keep on his Officer's good side.  
"The boy will be under my eye, sir," he said through gritted teeth and a forced patience. "I will not hesitate to strike if he so wishes to make a run for it."  
Infuriatingly, the Head Officer merely sniffed at this. "He better not even consider it for his own sake. Little runt may just stop running once the bigger bucks size him up."  
_I won't leave his side long enough for that to happen_, Bailey thought, with such fierce protectiveness it stunned himself.  
"Bailey?"  
Bailey realised he was frowning and quickly masked it with a smile. It was a smile that said '_I dare you try my patience for a moment longer_'. He was dismissed.

Ash was waiting for him a little way out from the warren, hopping excitedly from one foot to the other. As soon as the young rabbit spotted Bailey, he waved and bounded to his side in an instant, tugging his arm playfully.  
"So can we go, Willow?" he chirped. "Really?" Captain Bailey laughed and placed a hand on the jittering juvenille's head to calm him.  
"Just calm it a while, Bucko!" this was the nickname Ash had adopted since their first meeting.  
When Bailey drew his hand back and looked at Ash again… Wait? Was he _blushing_?  
The younger rabbit spun in the other direction and set off ahead if him towards the hill, calling back happily.  
But the colour that Bailey had glimpsed on Ash's cheeks had got him thinking.

It certainly wasn't hot outside, despite the amount of sunshine they had. So he wasn't warm.  
But there wasn't anything wrong with him was there? He didn't have a cold did he? No, he was perfectly fine when he woke up this morning. Then what?  
Could it be Ash liked him? Him of all people?

They climbed the hill in silence, clutching loose grass tufts and following the light scent of flayrah tickling the cold breeze. Ash was a little farther ahead but was evidently slowed by the steep climb. Bailey tried to focus his thoughts. The younger rabbit was eager to please, but then most were to rank higher in this close packed kind of living.  
But Ash was different.  
No denying that Bailey himself was growing more than merely attached to the boy. But was this okay? To even think like this was out of the question.  
Surely.  
Bailey grasped another tussock of brittle grass sprouting from a dandelion. He wasn't much older than the boy, only an age gap of three or four years seperating them.  
He wasn't high ranking as far as Owsla or society was concerned. The problem was his respect simply as a good, honest rabbit.

His thoughts were broken as a shape came tumbling down towards him, gripping frantically at the grass above his head but ripping it clean out as it continued to plummet towards the bewildered Captain relentlessly.  
It was Ash.  
Realising just in time what it was and what falling from this height would do to him, Bailey shot an arm out and caught the younger boy without much trouble, curling the breathless shape into his chest.  
He found it strange (and somewhat embarassing) that the thought that passed soley across his mind was for Ash's safety. He was softenign up in his old age!

Instead, he sighed and checked the trembling rabbit carefully.  
"You ok, lil Bucko?"  
Ash nodded shakily. He seemed fine.  
"You gave me a bit of a scare there!" The officer laughed, swinging Ash infront of him to scale the wall. "You have to be careful up here with all this loose turf. 'Specially in Winter."  
Ash blinked twice, shook his head then smirked up at Bailey happily, sending a strange jolt through the older rabbit's body.  
"Guess I ran off without you, old man!" he laughed.  
"I'll show you old you little hlessil you!" Bailey joked, cuffing Ash lightly with his hand.

Unthinkingly, he ran his hand through the younger rabbit's fluffy hair before swiftly continuing with his upwards momentum whilst he still had it.  
Ash held back a moment, but wether he was scared of falling or being left behind, he pursued in a daze. When at last they reached the top of the hill, Bailey hopped up easily with his strong legs and reached a hand down to Ash who stubbornly rejected it and clambered up himself, almost as if to prove a point.  
It was at this moment, the rotten cabbages would smell their worst and the few people Bailey had taken up here- the Head Officer one of them- had all screwed their noses up and remarked all in the same way with exclamations of "What is that frith forsaken stench?" and the like.

He watched Ash sniff delicately now, and waited as the younger face screwed up. But it was with wonder and not disgust.

"What one earth is that smell?" he asked curiously.  
"You've never smelt cabbages before?"  
"'C-cabba'…?"  
"You know; flayrah. Man grows it but shoots anything that get even remotely close."

At the mention of 'man' Ash flinched, but let his fond memories overtake his pain and tilted his head as the older rabbit sat on the edge of the hill lazily.  
"I've tried that once I think, back home there was loads! But Poppy didn't want me to eat it."  
Bailey laughed. "Why ever not?"  
"She said it could be poisoned or a man would find out." answered Ash, joining his older friend.  
"Seems like your sister thinks a lot about keeping you safe." Bailey commented.  
"Thought." Ash mumbled glumly.

The look on his face made Bailey want to shake the younger rabbit repeatedly and drill the truth into his skull. Grabbing him by the shirt, he reeled him under his arm and ruffled his thick hair relentlessly.  
"No, you fool, 'thinks'. Present tense. Now. Forever."  
Ash emerged slightly red and surprised but managed to form some small words. "Really?"  
"Don't get me started Bucko," the sturdy officer grinned, looking out over the warren as darkness fell over it.

A comfortable silence resided between the two this time as they watched everything pale and glow in pulsing stillness.  
"This is my home now?" Ash asked, sounding almost breathless. "With you, Willow?"  
"Consider it what you will, but home- as I heard a man say once-, is 'where the heart is'."  
"My heart isn't here." Ash said truthfully, after a long pause.  
"I tell you as a friend that neither's mine, Bucko."  
Reaching into his shirt pocket, Bailey withdrew a cabbage leaf and tossed it into Ash's lap. "There you are, without poison or man, all yours." he joked.

Ash thanked him and began nibbling the vegetation tenderly. Bailey was carefully tracing every feature of the younger rabbit's face; his arched eyebrows and curve of his eyes right down to the slight slope in the bridge of his nose.  
Then he noticed a bead of blood on those peach coloured perfect lips.  
"You're looking at me…" Ash mumbled, shifting uncomfortably, the cabbage between his teeth, the colour returning to his chalky cheeks.  
"There's some blood on your lip," Bailey pointed out, leaning over and rubbing the scarlett spot with his thumb.  
Ash's eyes sparkled slightly brighter than the stars hanging overhead and Bailey felt his heart speed up.

_Oh Frith and Inlé, this is suicide_! He could be kicked out, banished- the possibilities were countless!  
_But isn't this what I always wanted? Adventure._ Bailey countered. _And this is just the beginning of it isn't it?_

Without another second of hesitation, he leaned forward to seal the space between them, his lips inching forward at what must've been quite quickly, but seemed like forever to Bailey. Ash's pupils dilated in a mixture of alarm and embarassment when he realised what the officer was doing, but he made no immediate moves away from him.  
In fact, it was almost as if he was shifting closer. Their hot breath mingled next to each other's mouths for a desperate second, the sweet, subtle scent of evening dew on the grass and chewed cabbage leaves clinging to Bailey's nostrils like the nostalgic scents of Summer.  
Gasping, he made the final move in order to seal the kiss.

* * *

DUN DUN DUUUUN.  
Cliffhangers. Oh how you hate them(:  
Will they kiss? Won't they? If not, what stops them?


End file.
